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  • Survey: Local NDs Give So-So Marks To National TV News

    In a TVNewsCheck survey, a cross-section of news directors at TV stations around the country were asked to grade ABC News, CBS News, CNN, FNC, NBC News and MSNBC on "overall journalistic quality." None received an A, four earned Bs and, as for Fox News Channel and MSNBC, they may have to stay after class. More | Comments (7)

  • Ex. Session: Record Political Ad Boom Looms, But ...

    TVB’s political ad guru Jack Poor says there’s good news and bad news for TV stations in this election year. The good news is that their four-fifths share of total TV spend will be up 20% to around a record $2.5 billion, and no other medium seems positioned to cut into stations' share. The bad news is that the total take will be suppressed due to the lack of any major gubernatorial contest that swelled the coffers in 2010. More | Add comment

  • Jessell: Disclosure Rule The First Step Toward Quotas

    The FCC's proposed disclosure rules, which would require stations to detail the kinds of programming they air and post the info on their websites, should be fought tooth and nail by broadcasters. What the regulators want are statistics that they can use to hang over stations in the form of a programming quotas at license renewal time. And a quota is nothing but a mandate. It's the federal government telling stations what programming they must air, and that slams right into broadcasters' First Amendment rights. More | Comments (9)

  • Front Office: Cord Cutting Is Gen Y’s Latest Trend

    A growing number of young adults born between 1980 and 1995 — Gen Y — are purchasing over-the-air antennas to watch television programming. Gen Ys are inherently more adept at, and prone to, experimenting with alternative forms of viewing TV content; they are less likely to accept the need to subscribe to subscription-based pay TV once they’re free to make their own decisions about it. More | Comments (11)

  • NAB 2012: Getting The Shot Cheaper, Easier, Faster

    JVC%27s+GY-HM150
    JVC's GY-HM150
    As more and more stations adopt the one-man band approach to newsgathering, the camera manufacturers are turning out new units that are small enough and light enough to be managed easily, and big enough and heavy enough to be balanced for a steady shot. Plus, they’re inexpensive enough that any station's budget can handle them, too. More | Comments (7)

Special Reports

  • 2011—Year In Review: Revisit the year’s top developments in business, programming, journalism, technology, regulation and more.
  • Audience Measurement: The state of ratings is examined in three parts: an interview with the head of the Media Ratings Council; the growing presence of Rentrak; and the search for a better local ratings currency.
  • Traffic Reporting: This four-part TVNewsCheck Special Report focuses on what it takes to stay on top of the growing commuter gridlock across the country.
  • Remembering 9/11: TVNewsCheck looks back 10 years after the attacks with a series of five articles.
  • Severe Weather News: This five-part TVNewsCheck Special Report focuses on the changing technology used to stay ahead of storms.
  • TOP 30 TV STATION GROUPS: TVNewsCheck's exclusive ranking by coverage with a summary of each group's holdings and top executives.

Industry Calendar

March 2012
Tu
Th
13-15
American Cable Association
ACA’s 19th Annual Summit
Washington, D.C., DC
We
We
21-22
Borrell Advertising Associates
The Borrell Local Online Advertising Conference
New York, NY
We
Th
21-23
BIA Kelsey
ILM EAST
Boston, MA
April 2012
Sa
Th
14-19
National Association of Broadcasters
NAB Show
Las Vegas, NV
June 2012
Tu
Th
12-14
PromaxBDA
PromaxBDA: The Conference 2012
Los Angeles, CA

Station Directory

Net Essentials

AP Breaking News

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TVNewsCheck Focus on Syndication
Top Sitcoms Out Of Netflix’s Reach…For Now
TVNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 8:29 AM EST
The subscription video-on-demand service is spending $1 billion this year to acquire programming to beef up its offerings, with an increased emphasis on syndicated fare. But while Netflix may be throwing around a lot of dollars, it isn't competing with TV stations and basic cable networks for A-list, off-net sitcoms like Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory — at least not yet. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus on Programming
Another Spanish Net? Crazy Like A Fox
TVNewsCheck, Jan 30, 2012, 8:42 AM EST
In what it hopes will be a reprise of its success in taking on ABC, CBS and NBC, Fox is setting its sights on the rapidly growing Hispanic population in the U.S. with MundoFox. Media agencies, Spanish-language broadcasters, analysts, program producers and even rival networks believe that News Corp. can pull it off if it is smart about the proposed broadcast network’s programming and can assemble a solid lineup of affiliates. Fox is offering broadcasters one half of the advertising inventory, or six minutes per hour. It's neither offering nor asking for cash. Full Story | Comments (3)
TVNewsCheck Focus on Washington
Battle Over Virtual Duopolies Heats Up At FCC
TVNewsCheck, Dec 7, 2011, 5:32 AM EST
Broadcasters are trying to preserve the arrangements that they say let financially troubled stations benefit from economies of scale while still maintaining separate ownership. An NAB delegation met last week with key FCC advisers to press the case. They are up against a coalition of industry watchdog groups, labor unions, cable and satellite providers and some congressional Democrats who say the deals weaken a market's diversity of voices. “It is an outright evasion of the TV duopoly rule,” says Media Access Project’s Andrew Schwartzman, The goal of these agreements, he claims, “is to do what the duopoly rules prohibit." Full Story | Comments (18)
TVNewsCheck Focus on Sales
More Political Headed For Primetime, Sports
TVNewsCheck, Nov 30, 2011, 6:33 AM EST
News will always be the first choice of political advertisers because they know they can reach more likely voters there. But when the dollars begin flooding in next year, experts say, more will be going into non-news programming because news inventory will be tapped out and because some advertisers want to target certain types of voters. Full Story | Comments (3)
The Big Five: Inside TV's Platform Vendors
TVNewsCheck, Nov 23, 2011, 7:44 AM EST
TVNewsCheck Focus On New Media
Vendors See More Digital Complexity For TV
TVNewsCheck, Nov 23, 2011, 7:08 AM EST
The companies that provide Web and mobile platforms say their TV station clients should prepare for the opportunities — and challenges — of connected TVs, enhanced social media and mobile devices that allow for content tailored to users' profiles and physical locations. The key to success may be managing the content workflow in the newsroom. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus On Syndication
Fuzzy Syndication Picture Coming Into Focus
TVNewsCheck, Nov 16, 2011, 7:51 AM EST
Syndicators and stations got some answers to the many questions hanging over them for next season lineups. CBS Television Distribution’s Jeff Probst (left) was picked up by the NBC Owned Television Stations. Twentieth Television’s Ricki with Ricki Lake was grabbed by Tribune Broadcasting in New York and seven other markets while Warner Bros.’s Anderson with Anderson Cooper secured key second-season renewals. Still looking for a home is Warner Bros.’s Bethenny Frankel. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus On Syndication
The Laff Is Back: Sitcoms New Syndie Favs
TVNewsCheck, Nov 2, 2011, 6:15 AM EDT
Stations will have a lot of options for filling their off-net syndication needs in 2013 and beyond. Following the stunning success of ABC’s Modern Family, the growth of half-hour comedies on the networks is providing a new batch of shows for syndication. Right behind Twentieth Television’s Family are Sony Pictures Television’s Community, Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show, Warner Bros.’ The Middle and possibly Disney-ABC’s Cougar Town and NBC Universal’s Parks and Recreation. Full Story | Comments (1)
TVNewsCheck Focus On Business
Local News Is Driver For NBC O&O Revival
TVNewsCheck, Oct 31, 2011, 7:05 AM EDT
Valari Staab, a longtime ABC local broadcaster who was hired away to lead the NBC Owned Television Stations, is reinventing the group through a four-pronged strategy of bigger budgets and staff for better, stronger newscasts; better promoting those newscasts and stories; increased local autonomy; and otherwise recharging the non-network daytime schedule. Full Story | Comments (2)
TVNewsCheck Focus On Washington
Good And Bad In FCC's New Disclosure Plan
TVNewsCheck, Oct 26, 2011, 8:31 AM EDT
Tomorrow, the FCC will proffer a new batch of disclosure rules to replace the ones it passed in 2007 but hasn’t been enforcing. Like the 2007 rules, the proposed ones call for more detailed programming reports from stations so the FCC can better assess whether they are meeting public interest obligations. But the new ones are not as demanding as the 2007 ones. Stations would still have to put their public files online and, unlike before, include political advertising records showing the purchases of time by candidates, PACs and other political advocacy groups. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus on Syndication
'Katie' A Go As Clearances Top 60% Of U.S.
TVNewsCheck, Oct 24, 2011, 8:30 AM EDT
Stiff weekly license fees, Couric's subpar showing on CBS and some other issues have made the new talker from Disney-ABC a challenging sale, say some broadcasters. But deals with Hearst, Cox, Scripps and others put the show in 20 of the top 25 markets and in good shape for a syndication debut next fall. They also boost it way out ahead of other talk shows vying for pickup for next season. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus on New Media
Stations Amp Up Viewing With OTT Apps
TVNewsCheck, Oct 12, 2011, 8:09 AM EDT
Over the past year or so, dozens of TV stations have begun quietly experimenting with technology that can deliver content to Internet-connected TV sets and conventional TVs linked to the Net through Blu-ray players, game consoles, DVRs and specially designed set-top boxes from Roku, Western Digital and others. These over-the-top (OTT) apps promise to extend their brands and drive revenue. Full Story | Comments (3)
TVNewsCheck Focus on Washington
Super Committee New Focus Of Auction Push
TVNewsCheck, Sep 21, 2011, 8:31 AM EDT
The FCC’s desire to auction TV spectrum to aid wireless broadband and generate revenue is now centered on a House-Senate effort to reduce the country’s budget deficit. Broadcasters, led by NAB, are concerned that the Super Committee version of the incentive auction will lack sufficient protections for those TV stations that choose not to participate in an auction. So, NAB and other broadcast lobbyists will be working hard over the next two months to make sure that whatever incentive auction provision emerges addresses the industry's concerns. Full Story | Comments (12)
TVNewsCheck Annual Forecast
2012 Spot TV: Total Up 10.2%, Core Up 2.7%
TVNewsCheck, Sep 13, 2011, 8:51 PM EDT
According to broadcasters, reps and analysts surveyed by TVNewsCheck, the revenue driver at TV stations next year will be political ad money, but no one expects a repetition of the huge increases stations enjoyed in 2010. Another positive sign is that auto spending is picking up again following the earthquake-tsunami double whammy that hit Japanese automakers in March. A still struggling economy is said to account for the core forecast in the low single digits. Full Story | Comments (1)
TVNewsCheck Focus on Sales
Auto Advertisers Rev Up TV Spending
TVNewsCheck, Sep 7, 2011, 5:46 AM EDT
While the forecasters may quibble about the speed of the auto (and auto advertising) recovery, they all agree there is one and that the growth should continue at some level for the next several years. BIA/Kelsey projects that ad spending by the automotive industry on local television by 2015 will total $4.2 billion annually, equal to 2007 levels, the culmination of a steady turnaround of ad dollars from the low point of 2009. It also projects that spot TV will maintain its 26% share of total local ad spend through 2015. Full Story | Comments (4)
Tvnewscheck focus on programming
Big 3 Networks Set To Slug It Out At 10 P.M.
TVNewsCheck, Aug 31, 2011, 6:10 AM EDT
Media buyers study the upcoming season’s schedules and see CBS continuing to win the final hour of primetime. In addition, Fox affiliates should get a nice lead-in boost for their 10 o’clock local newscasts from the highly-anticipated X-Factor at 9. Here is a night-by-night rundown. Full Story | Comments (8)
TVNewsCheck Focus on Business
Private Equity Is Bullish On Broadcasting
TVNewsCheck, Aug 24, 2011, 7:35 AM EDT
As many as eight of the TVNewsCheck Top 30 station groups already have private equity backing, as do several smaller station groups, and there are hints that private equity investors could be preparing for another push into the sector. “Private equity used to buy because of growth,” says an industry source involved with M&A activity. “Now they’re buying because groups are throwing off cash.” Full Story | Comments (4)
TVNewsCheck Focus On Journalism
Scripps Bucks Investigative Reporting Trend
TVNewsCheck, Aug 17, 2011, 8:26 AM EDT
In the last year and a half, Scripps Television has made new hires and put existing staffers through special training  as part of a concerted effort to improve investigative reporting at its nine news-producing stations. "It’s about serving your community and providing them with journalism and stories they need to know about,” says Bob Sullivan, a former Scripps station news director who, after a hiatus from TV news, rejoined the company in January 2010, in part to lead the effort. Full Story | Comments (2)
Special Report
Diginets Struggle For Place On TV's Frontier
TVNewsCheck, Jul 27, 2011, 6:08 AM EDT
It’s a little like the Wild West as proliferating multicast channels scramble for carriage on coveted TV station subchannels. And those that win carriage still have to prove they can attract viewers and advertisers. TVNewsCheck’s roundup of these pioneering programming providers turned up 23. In our exclusive listing, we sum up what kind of programming they offer, what their basic proposition to potential affiliates is and how far along they are in distribution. Full Story | Comments (16)
TVNewsCheck FOCUS ON PROGRAMMING
Who’s Going To Score With New NFL Games?
TVNewsCheck, Jul 13, 2011, 8:14 AM EDT
Media buyers say that there are plenty of advertisers ready to back a possible new TV package of eight Thursday night NFL games. If the NFL moves foward with the plan, they say, the games would most likely end up on cable — ESPN, Turner (TBS, TNT or Tru TV) or Comcast’s Versus. They can draw on the hefty programming fees from the cable and satellite operators to subsidize the games. Nonetheless, the buyers believe the broadcast networks would be remiss if they just conceded the package to cable. Full Story | Comments (2)
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The Market

Symbol Last Change (%)
Nasdaq 2913.23 +9.15 (+0.32%)
NYSE 8083.03 +13.32 (+0.17%)
S&P 500 1349.26 +2.21 (+0.16%)
Updated 02/08 4:11p ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content

Ratings

Overnights, adults 18-49 for February 7, 2012
  • 1.
    3.1/8
  • 2.
    3.0/8
  • 3.
    2.4/6
  • 4.
    2.0/5
  • 5.
    1.6/4
  • 6.
    0.6/1
Source: Nielsen
Reviews
Opinions
Features
  • Neil Genzlinger

    Smash, NBC’s series about backstage Broadway, comes with New York and Hollywood names off screen (Steven Spielberg, Therese Rebeck) and on (Debra Messing and Brian d’Arcy James). Given that pedigree, you’re expecting to be bowled over by the pilot, but it ends up feeling like a collage of devices from the zillions of previous backstage plays, musicals and movies. However, be patient — Smash gets better as it goes along and by Episode 3 it shows signs of becoming an addictive pleasure along the lines of this season’s Revenge.

  • Lori Rackl

    Pop some Dramamine before watching ABC's new horror series, The River, because the shaky camera work is more likely to make you seasick than scared. You can, however, skip the sleeping pill. The River's two-hour premiere should suffice. Billed as a thriller, the show tries hard to be terrifying and eerie in a Paranormal Activity kind of way. It ends up being hokey and, even worse, boring.

  • Robert Lloyd

    Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, veterans of Fox's sketch comedy MADtv, have a new series of their own, Comedy Central's Key & Peele. It is a genial, at times almost genteel, half-hour in which the pair's obvious niceness shines through even their more pugnacious characters. (Key's version of road rage is to shout, "Selfish!") In a roundabout way, that's the point. The sketches are consistently smart and smartly acted and flow easily from ordinary premises to weird conclusions.

  • Hank Stuever

    Discovery's Bering Sea Gold doesn’t seem at first like it has crossed any new reality TV frontier, relying on elements and structure familiar to the form. Enticingly (to the network), it combines the ocean and the gold and the cold and the reactive testosterone among bad-tempered desperados. To which I am surprised to cry: Eureka, they’ve found it! Bering Sea Gold is a testament to how thoroughly absorbing the genre can still be, when it’s done right.

  • Joanne Ostrow

    Kiefer Sutherland displays his softer side in Fox's Touch, a touchy-feely drama merging paranormal, spiritual and sweetly familial elements. shows off his acting chops, long forgotten, in scene after scene. It's heavier lifting than usual for the actor who was often reduced to caricature in 24. Sutherland is all about vulnerability in a show whose goal is nothing short of proving the interconnectedness of human life. We'll see if audiences can tolerate the notion of profound interrelatedness as weekly entertainment.

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